Rex
Rex is the main character of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and he's a popular choice for a Smash Switch newcomer. Who is Rex? Rex is a salvager who lives in Alrest atop a Titan named Azurda, or Gramps. He salvages treasure beneath the Cloud Sea to make a living, and then he sends most of the money he makes back to the woman who raised him in Fonsett Village of the Leftherian Archipelago. For a less boring version, he's basically Shulk's replacement. He gets to be the main character because he resonates with Pyra, the Aegis (basically a special Blade with special significance in-universe), and then he promises to take her to Elysium before spending the majority of the game just ing around because no effort at all was put into Xenoblade 2's writing. No, really, fans of the game say he's a better character than Shulk, but he's just a cookie cutter shounen protagonist who actively refuses to develop. Seriously, he's placed in the same situation twice in the game (once early on, and once at the end), and he makes exactly the same immature decision both times even though he's supposed to be maturing and coming of age and all that stuff, he doesn't change, instead being bailed out both times. He has no nuance, and he's extremely bland, but he's still popular because Xenoblade 2 did well. His being seen as inevitable may have something to do with it too, however. What Can He Do? Rex, like Shulk, focuses on using arts. He has his grapple gun thing he uses for salvaging and Anchor Shot, whiich allows him to topple his foes. He also has what's basically Backslash plus Sideslash, and then he can do a bunch more stuff with his Blades, particularly Pyra and Mythra. He even has easy Final Smash potential with Burning Sword. Pyra and Mythra Blades are integral to the combat system, and if Rex gets in, it's almost mandatory that Pyra and Mythra show up too. They give him a lot of the moveset potential he'd show in cutscenes, and they allow him to use specials such as the aforementioned Burning Sword. However, when it comes to characterization, they suffer even worse than Rex does. Pyra has no character to speak of outside of being a satellite to Rex and only serves to exist as his love interest (on that note, she's five hundred and definitely looks more mature and has no chemistry with him) while Mythra is just a typical tsundere the game pretends has more. The game is utterly devoid of strong, female leads and serves to strengthen the male power fantasy, down to the whole concept of Blades (almost all of which are female) serving Drivers (most of which are male in the game, but Rex still gets his own harem anyway, so that's what's most prominent here). Pyra and Mythra have very little character because they exist for you to ogle, and the game makes sure you get plenty of shots of them. It's so bad that the VA's made fun of it, and Mythra's first two scenes after her introduction are fanservicey anyway, so it's pretty clear how you're meant to look at them. Even Nia and Mòrag, the only two modestly dressed women, have their own separate issues. Basically, the game isn't kind to you if you're not a man. Of course, this is Smash, so characterization doesn't matter. Sakurai's had to make plenty of adjustments for the age rating, and female Corrin was even covered up when she made it as DLC, so if Pyra and Mythra end up being covered up too, considering Xenoblade 2 is meant to appeal to horny teenagers, the backlash will be tremendous. Anyway, since I'm getting off-track, if Rex shows up in Smash, he'll almost definitely have Pyra and Mythra too, and it'd be really weird if he didn't. Is He Inevitable? Well, initially, he was thought to be, but now, as it turns out, there are several factors working against him. *For one, we know that Sakurai bought a Vifam figure for animation references, which helps Elma's case far more than his. While it's not unheard of for a series to get multiple unique newcomers per game, it's still unlikely. *Also, Pyra's VA (who also voices Mythra) confirmed that she hasn't recorded anything for Smash. While it's possible they reuse audio or keep the Japanese voices, there's no precedent for either of these to happen to unique first-party newcomers. *And, as much as people may not want to admit it, he may be too recent. The roster was decided in late 2015/early 2016, nearly two years before the game came out, and while 2's development started during X's, X had already been out for a while by the time Smash Switch's roster was decided while 2 would've still been early on. Of course, he's still a possibility, and a Xenoblade newcomer is likely, but he is most definitely not inevitable. Any Other Xenoblade Reps? Well, there are, but Rex is seen as the most likely because he's relevant at the moment. The aforementioned Elma is seen as the second most likely choice to represent X, and then there are plenty of characters from the first game (particularly Dunban) who are seen as possibiltiies too. Otherwise, Malos, one of the main antagonists, has been suggested, but let's be honest, he's not even that good a villain. Would you really want him? In Smash Bros. Ultimate hes a mii costume lol Trivia *Rex has more game than you can ever hope to achieve. *Nia is statistically proven to be the superior love interest for Rex than Pyra. Although she's still better off on her own too. Category:Xenoblade Characters Category:Wanted Newcomers Category:Swordsmen Category:Anime Category:Animea Category:Animea Trash to be Removed Category:Ugly Category:Has too many waifus/husbandos Category:Deconfirmed Category:Mii costumes Category:DLC